Ferrero has unveiled plans for a range of initiatives early in 2019. Levi Boorer, customer development director, explained: “Mother’s Day and Easter fall later in 2019, extending the trading period and giving a greater window for seasonal sales. Ferrero has a wide range of seasonal and limited edition products joining the core line-up to appeal to each occasion individually, and we are investing in media campaigns to support retailers at Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter.”

A key driver of growth in 2018 came from the Easter Eggs sector, and to amplify this success in 2019, Ferrero is introducing a number of egg products to appeal to a wide range of shoppers.

The Thorntons range will be bolstered by the introduction of three new luxury eggs, featuring strong colours and a premium look and feel to appeal to younger, affluent shoppers. The premium eggs will be available in: White Chocolate & Raspberry, Milk Chocolate Almond & Hazelnut and Dark Chocolate & Orange.

The 212.5g and 275g luxury Ferrero Rocher eggs saw sales increase by 70% year-on-year in 2018, with the larger egg ranking third overall in the Luxury Eggs category. Both products will receive a makeover for 2019 to provide greater stand-out on shelf, while also highlighting the quality of the products inside.

For Kinder, two new 220g Surprise eggs are being launched to follow on from the success of the 100g in 2018 – where value sales grew by 21% and it was the top performing SKU in the kids confectionery category. The eggs will have bigger toys and licences such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Powerpuff Girls to provide a wide appeal.

The Kinder range is also being refreshed with new products and line extensions. The five-strong range of Kinder Surprise 36g hollow figures will sport seasonally relevant characters and designs, and the entire Kinder portfolio will be supported by a media campaign across all key channels and haloing the full seasonal range.

For shoppers seeking more luxury, the new Ferrero Rocher mini eggs drive sales early in the season when seasonal sharing is at its peak. The two Ferrero egg products (Hazelnut or Cocoa, 100g) are set to capitalise on the growing popularity of mini eggs, with the launch being supported by sampling activity at high-footfall areas to drive awareness across the UK.

Bolstering the range of novelties further is the introduction of the new Ferrero Rocher Squirrel. The 90g product scored highly for likeability in development, with 63% of shoppers saying they would purchase as an additional item.

Completing Ferrero’s range of new products for Easter 2019 are new bunny figures from Thorntons. Two new 200g bunny products (one milk chocolate and one white) are being launched this spring.

Ferrero will also be supporting retailers across Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day through range extensions, limited edition product formats and seasonally relevant packaging, all underpinned with multi-channel media support.

The limited edition ‘With Love’ boxes make a return for Thorntons in 2019, with updated packaging to drive more interest and underline the premium product inside, and Ferrero Collection will have two seasonally relevant packs for Mother’s Day, one ribbon pack and one “Just for you” sleeve pack.

Ferrero will be supporting its line-up with a digital campaign coupled with sampling aiming to reach five million potential consumers and provide three million samples.

“Confectionery is one of the few categories where shoppers are willing to spend money on products they love, especially at key seasonal trading spikes such as those throughout spring,” added Boorer.

“We’re committed to investing in media campaigns alongside our significant NPD to help retailers capitalise on the peaks in consumer demand by carrying the right mix of products.”

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